Device for insuring privacy of reception of printing telegraph messages



Dec. 1, 1931. P, Hm 1,834,278

DEVICE FOR INSURING PRIVACY OF RECEPTION OF PRINTING TELEGRAPH MESSAGES" Filed June 16, 1930 2 SheetsI-Sheet 1 FIG. I

INVENTOR PARKER HITT M ATTORNEY P. HITT 1,834,278

DEVICE FOR INSURING PRIVACY OF RECEPTION OF PRINTING TELEGRAPH MESSAGES Dec. 1, 1931.

Filed June 16, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 won 2:9 :Illlflll IIIQL I IHH HF I HI MHI HHHI I H INVENTOR PARKER HITT ATIORNEY Patented Dec. 1, 1931 UNITED STATES TE T OFFICE! PARKER Brannon NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TD INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS LABORATORIES, INC., 01? NEW YORK, Y., A. CORPORATION OF NEW YORK DEVICE'FORI INSUBING PRIVACY OF EEcEP'rIoN oE PRINTING TELEGRAPH MESSAGES Application filed June 16,

This invention relates toimprovements in instruments for receiving printing; telegraph messages and more particularly it has to do with. an attachment. for atape printing telegraph machine whereby'the' printed tape can be wound upin a secretive manner and then back-wound into a: container for: delivery to the addressee.

In certain classes of. communication: business it is essential that secrecy be maintained in the handling of the messages received. It is the object of. this invention to provide a simple means for delivering the; message in tape form from the printerinsuch a manner that it will at all; times, be concealed. from the View of the receiving operator.

A further object of'the invention is to provid'e'a tell-tale device whereby, in case it is necessary for the receiving operator to uncover the message, a distinguishing. mark may be automatically impressed: upon: the tape extending over such. portions thereof as may have. been exposed to View.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a plan: view of the invention;

Fig; Qshowsanz elevation view'of the same; 1

Fig; shows a; detail of the message box within: which. a message bearing tape may be wound and: delivered to' the addressee.

The: present device may be described. as follows:

The housing 1 contains a winding drum 2 and a: cylindricalmessagebox The housing is provided with a. cover 4 hinged as at 5. The paper tape is. delivered from the printerby means of the rolls 6' and 7 which are a part of. the printer. It is then fed through the slots 8" and the spindle 38 in the message container 3, the latter being held from turning while the printer is in operation.' Next the tapeis fed between the guide rolls 9 to the core. 10 of the winding. drum.

an indicating lever 13. This lever is provided with a target'l t, oneportion or'anoth'er 'of'which-appears-througha wind'ow'15 as the drum revolves Thisindicator arm 13 is held against the core 11 oragainst'the paper: which rollers 18 and 19 and allowing. a certain 1930'. Serial No. 461,427.

is wound thereon by a coiled spring 16 which surrounds the supporting shaft 17., The

winding drum is rotated by a friction roller 18- which engageswith a wheel 19, the motion of which is providedtbythe printer itself. The friction roller 18' is mounted on a member 20'whose axis of rotation is the stud 21 The winding drum 10 is also mounted upon this member 20. A spring. 22 held at one end by the adjusting screw 23 provides the proper pressure between the friction. rollers 18aand 19. The geanbetween the printer roller 6 and the roller 19 issuch that tension is always provided on the paper. tape;- This is arranged by making roller 19a littlelarger in diameter than roller 6 and driving-v them at thesame rotational speed; When the tensionbecomes too great it pulls against thespring' 22' releasing the pressure between the amount. of slippage. A cutter 2i is adapted to separatethetaipe between messages. It preferablyconsists, as shown, of knife mounted on a plunger 25-at the end of which isea-button 26 for manual. depression;

The tell-tale device consists of a suitable stylus or other markin'gj'medium 2'7 which is held away from the paper at all times'except when the cover 1 is lifted. This-telltale'device swings on the pivot. 28 and is provided with a lever29 to be. engaged wih thecovcr 4 so that the. marking impression will be ab sent while the cover is down. Associated with the plunger25 is a Wedge-30which rests against oneend of a slide rod 31*, the other end of which is adapted to engage-with a projection 32 on the swinging member 20. This-mechanism provides ameans forreleasing the clutch between the rollers 18 and 19 during the operations. of outtingiand backwindingthe-tape. The re-winding; mechanism: consists. of a crankihandle 33 whichsrotates in the bear;- ings 34. On its shaft 35 isalsomounted a bevelled; gear'36 engaging. with another bevoiled gear 37 which rotates thespindle; 38" of the message container 3.I a

Fig. 3 shows a viewaof: the message container and one of the slots S-t-hrough the paper. tape is fed.

which I A The operation of the device may be described as follows:

The receiving operator first threads an unprinted portion of the tape through the mechanism as is clearly shown in Fig. 1.v The end of the tape issecured in the slot 39 of the winding drum 10. Any slack in the tape may be taken up by turning the winding drum 1O clockwise by hand. The operator then puts down the cover and as the'message is printed the rollers 18 and 19 coact to wind the tape on the drum 10. During part of the.

first revolution of this drum, the indicator will move up and down as itsdog 12 engages with the notches 11. No useful purpose is served by this movement at this time but after the paper is wound over these notches the indicator lever merely acts as a tape tension and the target 14 shows through the window 15 the approximate amount of tape on the drum. After the cover 4 has been let down over the mechanism,it engages with the projection 29 on the tell-tale device, the stylus 27 of which is thus removed from contact with the paper. This stylus makes a spot on the paper, however, when the cover is lifted. The spot becomes a streak if the cover is left open while the printer is running.

When a message has been completed and the printer is stopped, the operator depresses the button 26 thereby shearing the tape at the point 40. It will be understood that in order to ensure that the complete message has passed beyond thisp oint that the sending operator will operate the space key on his sending instrument so as to feed several inches of tape beyond the end of the message.

After shearing the tape, the receiving operator then operates the crank 33 to re-wind the message on the spindle 38 in the delivery boX 3. As he nears the beginnig ofthe message which wasfirstwound on the drum 10, the teeth of this drum 11 are exposed to the operation of the indicating lever and a signal is thereby given so that the motion of the crank 33 may be slowed up. When the indicator lever 13 comes to rest in the last notch the signal stop will show through the window 15. The cover may then be'lifted and the delivery container removed. Any projecting tape will be blank, and can be pulled out until the name and address appears outside the slot 8 or through the container if this be made of transparent celluloid or similar material. The end of the tape may now be pasted to the outside of the container, and the container itself may be transmitted to the addressee either by messenger or by mail.

What is claimed is 1. Means to ensure privacy of reception of telegraph messages comprising a housed winding drum, a back-winding spindle, a cylindrical delivery container having peripheral slotted openings for the passage therethrough of a message tape, a winding transmission operable from the telegraph receiving instrument, a back-Winding gear for said delivery container, a knife to cut the tape between separate messages, and means operable upon operation of the knife to cut the tape to free the winding drum from its winding transmission.

2. The invention set forth in claim 1 comprising a lid for said housing and a tell-tale device operable when the lid is lifted to graphically indicate portions of the message tape that were exposed to View.

3." A privacy ensuring messagetape container having peripheral tape slots, and means to coil a message-bearing tape therein beginning at the latter end of the message and leaving the initial portion thereof pro- 'jecting through one of said slots.

4. An attachment for a printing telegraph receiver comprisinga tape winding drum driven from said printing telegraph receiver, a tape channel a portion of which comprises a slotted cylindrical container for message delivery purposes and means to back-wind a message-bearing tape therein.

5. In a device of the class described,a peripherally notched winding drum. and an indicating member adapted to engage in the notches thereof when exposed and to indicate approximately the amount of tape Wound thereon.

6. In a device of the class described, a

- printed tape winding and delivery container housing provided with a lid. and a tell-tale device adapted to graphically indicate on said printed .tape the portions thereof that may have been exposed to view.

7. In a device of the class described, a manually operated knife to separate individual tape printed messages, a back-winding mechanism with interchangeable containers for secretly enclosing said individual tape printed messages, and means rendered effective by actuation of the knife to cut the tape for placing the tape with its printed message thereon under control of the back winding mechanism. y i

8. A device for ensuring the privacy of tape recorded telegraph messages comprising, a housing, means within said housing for Winding said tape upon its reception, and means inside of which said tape is re-Wound, said latter means being removable from the housing and constituting a closed receptacle within which the message is delivered to the addressee.

9. A device for ensuring the privacy of tape recorded telegraph messages comprising, a housing, means within said housing upon which a message can be Wound as it is received, a removable container also disposed Within said housing, and means for re-Winding the message inside of said container after its reception, said container constituting the receptacle Within which the message is delivered to the addressee.

10. Means to ensure the privacy of tape recorded telegraph messages comprising, a

housing, a Winding drum Within said housing, a back-Winding spindle, and a remov v able delivery container carried by said spindle through which said tape is adapted to pass on its reception and Within Which it is adapted to be subsequently re-Wound.

11. Means to ensure the privacy of tape recorded telegraph messages comprising, a housing, a Winding drum Within said housin g, a tape feed mechanism,a back-Winding spindle, a removable delivery container carried by said spindle through Which said tape is adapted to pass on its reception and Within which it is adapted to be subsequently re- Wound, and means for rotating said drum from the tape feed mechanism.

In Witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 14th day of June, 1930.

PARKER HITT 

